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How do I handle the [redacted] guys who brag to girls about their jobs or money at parties? It feels like they’re trying to cuck me.

That word doesn’t mean what you think it means, but:

Let them.  And then artfully change the topic of conversation.

We’re many, many generations away from the golden years of Emily Post, meaning that no-one seems to realize how crude it is to brag about status at parties.  I’ve rarely been to non-work-related professional “mixers” that didn’t devolve into some sort of job- or money-related dick measuring contest at some point, so I empathize.

Changing the topic of conversation has multiple benefits:

1. You stop having to suffer through their oh-so-unique story about making millions on the Fisher account or some other self-important drivel,
2. Other people will like you because they don’t have to suffer either, and
3. You increase the likelihood that the topic of conversation will be something they look stupid or boring talking about.

A high-level version of this game is to learn topics that self-important braggarts feel awkward talking about, such as bucket list items or hobbies they likely don’t have time for, literature or poetry of virtually any kind, or simply people that are not them.

Tags: emily post, manners, parties